WEBVTT JC MONAHAN: IT IS A COMMON QUESTION, WHY WOULD ANYONE TAKE THE TROUBLE TO BUILD STONEWALL'S IN THE MIDDLE OF A FOREST? THE ANSWER IS THAT THESE WEREN'T ALWAYS WOODS. THEY WERE IN FACT, FARMERS FIELDS. THERE IS A SENSE OF SADNESS TO THE WALLS. THESE PEOPLE WERE HAPPILY FARMING HERE, AND THEN THEY LEFT. JC MONAHAN: ROBERT THORSON, PROFESSOR OF UROLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT AND AUTHOR OF SEVERAL BOOKS UNDER ENGLAND'S STONEWALL. ROBERT THORSON: WE ARE LOOKING THROUGH THE RUINS, RUINS OF A FORMER CIVILIZATION IN NEW ENGLAND. JC MONAHAN: THIS CAME AFTER THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR, BUT CLEARING THE FIELD WAS NOT A ONE-TIME AFFAIR. ROBERT THORSON: THEY GROW EVERY YEAR. JC MONAHAN: FRANK CARLSON OF THE ORCHARD IN HARTFORD. YOU WILL BE MOWING IN THE ORCHARD AND THIS YEAR YOU SEE A ROCK WAS NOT THERE LAST YEAR. IT KEEPS WORKING ITS WAY TO THE SURFACE WITH A FREEZE AND THAW EVERY YEAR. JC MONAHAN: IT BRINGS A NEW CROP OF FIELDSTONES TO THE SURFACE, SOMETIMES CALLED NEW ENGLAND POTATOES. YOU CANNOT CALL -- YOU CANNOT FEED YOUR FAMILY WITH THEM. IT IS THE STUFF I MAKE ALL OF OUR GOODS FROM. JC MONAHAN: NOW, TO MOST FOLKS THIS MIGHT LOOK LIKE UP LACKEY, BUT NOT TO HIM. I WAS AN ECONOMIST, I SAW THE CHANCE TO MAKE SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL. JC MONAHAN: AMERICAN STONE CRAFT. HE HAS PARTNERED WITH 70 NEW ENGLAND FARMS TO TURN THEIR EXCESS FIELDSTONE INTO PLATE WHERE, BOWLS, AND SERVING PLATTERS. EACH OF THESE HOMELY ROCKS LIES THE POTENTIAL FOR A PIECE OF ART. A GOOD ROCK IS A LITTLE WEIRD. JC MONAHAN: THE ROCKS ARE BROUGHT TO AMERICAN STONE CRAFT'S LOAN HEADQUARTERS WHERE THEY ARE SAWED OPEN. EVEN AT THIS STAGE, ONLY ABOUT HALF WILL MAKE THE CUT. THERE ARE A LOT OF STONES THAT ARE A BORING COLOR OR THEY HAVE REALLY SERIOUS FISSURES. JC MONAHAN: HE POLISHES AND BRINGS OUT THE PERSONALITY. THEY LABEL THEM WITH DIFFERENT FARMS STONES COME FROM. YOU CAN SEE THE VARIETY OF COLORS EVEN FROM STONES WEATHERED AT THE SAME FARMS. JC MONAHAN: AMERICAN STONE CRAFT SELLS ITS PRODUCTS AT THE NEW BOSTON PUBLIC MARKET, AS WELL AS ONLINE AND AT HUNDREDS OF RETAILERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. THIS IS A NEW ONE. JC MONAHAN: THEY PROVIDE PARTNER FARMS WITH PRODUCTS TO SELL AT PARTNER STANDS. HE HAD HIS DOUBTS. MY BROTHERS AND I THOUGHT HE WAS A LITTLE OFF HIS ROCKER. NOW, WHEN HE BRINGS A FINISHED PRODUCT FOR US TO SELL, IT SOUNDS A GOOD IDEA. I WISH I HAD THOUGHT OF IT MYSELF. JC MONAHAN: INNOVATIVE AS HIS PRODUCT IS, IT IS NOT THE FIRST TIME THE LONELY NEW ENGLAND FIELDSTONE HAS BEEN ELEVATED TO WORK ART. TENDS THE FROZEN GROUNDSWELL UNDER IT AND THE BOULDER OF OF IT. JC MONAHAN: IF STONE WALLS HAVE AN ORACLE, IT IS SURELY THE POET LAUREATE ROBERT FROST. HIS HOW AM "THE MENDING WALL" MADE THESE STONES FAMOUS. I WOULD SAY IT IS PROBABLY THE MOST AMOS STONEWALL IN THE WORLD. -- AMOS STONE WALL IN THE WORLD. EVEN MORE THAN HADRIAN'S STONEWALL. JC MONAHAN: WE COME TO DERRY, NEW HAMPSHIRE IN SEARCH OF THE CELEBRATED WALL THAT FROST SHARED WITH HIS NEIGHBOR NAPOLEON GAY. OUR GUIDE, RICK HOLMES, TELLS THE STORY. RICK HOLMES: IT HAS THAT WONDERFUL OPENING LINE, SOMETHING THERE IS THAT DOES NOT LOVE A WALL. THAT IS LIKE, ONE OF THOSE DARK AND STORMY NIGHT OPENINGS. YOU CAN'T MESS WITH THEM OPENING LINE LIKE THAT. JC MONAHAN: THE OLD STONEWALL OUTFRONT ARE LOVELY ON THIS CLEAR WINTER MORNING. HOME'S IN FORMS AS WE ARE ON THE WRONG TRACK. THE FAMOUS WALL DIVIDING FROST'S PROPERTY FROM HIS NEIGHBORS ARE HIDDEN AWAY, OVERGROWN BY FORESTS. RICK HOLMES: A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW HER THE HOUSE IS, BUT THIS WALL IS BEING SHARED BY YOU AND I, AND WE WILL KEEP IT TO OURSELVES. JC MONAHAN: WE WILL HAVE TO FILE THAT REQUEST UNDER PROMISES TO KEEP. RICK HOLMES: YOU CAN TAKE THIS ABSOLUTELY FOR GRANTED. JC MONAHAN: OUCH. THAT WAS BAD. GOOD, BUT DAD. -- BAD. IT IS WIDELY UNDERSTOOD THAT A LOT OF THE ROCK WALLS WERE BUILT BY THE COLONISTS. CLEARING THE LAND -- EARLY COLONISTS CLEARING THE SOIL. JC MONAHAN: THEY ACTUALLY CLEARED THE LAND OF TREES AND IT WAS NOT UNTIL SEVERAL GENERATIONS LATER, THE ROCKS AGAIN TO EMERGE BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT HELD DOWN BY TREE ROOT. EARLY TO MID-1800S. THEA ALVIN'S ARTWORK IS NEXT. THEA ALVIN: I LIKE TO MAKE IT LOOK LIKE IT IS LIMITED. JC MONAHAN: BREAKING LAWS OF